Is my iChlor30 toast?

MaxCanteloupe

New member
May 23, 2024
2
Virginia
Would LOVE some help if anyone has experience with this fault..

Here's what the SWCG is indicating: Flow LED is green indicating good flow which checks out, Cell LED is off indicating its not producing chlorine, Salt LED is flashing red indicating low salt but it is actually a touch high and the Display doesn't illuminate at all, even in diagnostic mode.

The troubleshooting guide doesn't have anything that precisely matches what I'm seeing. It's got some things similar, so I've checked them and not had any change with the user manual troubleshooting guide.

27,000 gallon, in-ground pool has been open 3 days. Water is relatively balanced, all readings are (or are close to) ideal, just need to dial it in a little. Water is clean, just a tad cloudy. Salt is 4,000ppm. iChlor 30 electric and plumbing is hooked up the same way it was last year, I only removed and re-installed for closing/opening and it was stored out of the elements over winter. Per Pentair, the aerial number indicates it was manufactured in 2021. No debris inside the SWCG only a tiny bit of calcium build up.

Also, I dumped a few cups of salt directly into the skimmer, watched the SWCG for a bit and notices that the flashing of red Salt LED slowed. There's already an excess of salt in the pool though.

I called Pentair who said they said that they can try to help if I'm able to register it for warranty without proof of purchase if the manager decides to reach out to me with some special email. Don't have paperwork, bought the house last year and pool equipment came with it.

Hopefully Pentair will help but anyone have any idea other than this thing is now a paperweight?
 
The display not working is the main problem and salt level does not affect the display.

I think you will need up replacing the cell.

The iChlor30 is rated for 30,000 gallon pools and is undersized for your 27,000 gallon pool. We recommend a SWG cell be 2X your pool volume to last longer and so you do not need to run it at a high % for most of the day.

Consider replacing the cell with an IntelliChlor IC60 cell. The IC60 will use the same Power Center but is a bit longer and will require some minor PVC change.


 
I'm new to this, but I have that exact same model, and a similar experience. Salt level is 3600, but it was reading 2600ish in diagnostic mode, and the salt light was solid red, indicating low salt, but not red flashing low levels.

I took it to a pool store that performed something on it, not sure what, but it was covered under warranty. Got it home and there was no change in the light behavior or the low salt reading compared to the actual results from our taylor salt kit.

All that said, the cell light was coming on when it was generating chlorine so I just decided to let it go and test the FC twice a day since, and it's been fine, always hovering around 7-10 depending on the time, so I think it's good, it's just the readings on it aren't accurate for some reason.

Not sure if that's helpful but just letting you know that I had a similar experience with that same model. I'm kind of holding my breath a bit waiting for it to bite the dust, or maybe it won't and we're good, who knows?

Also, pentiar or a pool store that works on these can tell by the Serial number if it's under warranty. Ours was, and I took it to a place that works on them, and had no issues with the warranty, and just like you, we just bought our house last fall, so we don't have any invoice or documentation on the pool or equipment. But Pentair did give me the same spiel about need an invoice showing professional installation, etc, but I don't think they give the pool stores that do a lot of business with them that same runaround is my point, because he didn't ask me for anything.
 
When the salt reading is not accurate it is usually a bad temperature sensor which is part of the flow switch. The water temperature is used as part of the salt calculation and when it is off the salt level displayed is off.

The flow switch/temperature assembly is the weak spot in Pentair cells and is easily replaced.

iChlor Flow-Temperature Switch Replacement Kit (P/N 523100) has a black nut.

See the INTELLICHLOR AND iCHLOR FLOW-TEMPERATURE SWITCH REPLACEMENT KIT Installation Guide
 
I am having the exact problem with my ichlor30. Salt led flashing red. Cell led off. Flow led green. Display was showing the “rotating circle” and 100. More/Less buttons not working. Couldn’t enter diagnostics mode. I unplugged-plugged back in. Same lights, but now the display is off. More/less buttons do nothing.
Taylor test kit showed salt was actually high, but salt led flashing red.
Sounds like I need to replace. Also I see the ichlor30 is not adequate for my pool (27600 gallons)